Getting Physically Tough Part 2 Lesson 4

Acting You can actually trick your mind into thinking you are something that you are not, and vice versa. William James said: “Act the part and you will become the part.”

Acting Tougher on the Outside There is a link between emotions and body Feeling anger can trigger extra adrenaline, an accelerated heart rate, and increased breathing. Feeling depression causes hormone production to decrease, and behavior changes. Faking emotions can actually cause your inside body to change.

Acting Tougher on the Outside A study done showed that common behavioral symptoms of depression included: Sleeping in late Staying indoors with the curtains closed Not changing out of pajamas or showering Not doing things you enjoy Dwelling on all the negative things in your life over and over. The researcher forced himself to feel the above feelings even though he wasn’t depressed. After a few days he became severely depressed and institutionalized under suicide watch. He then forced himself to reverse the depression and was successful in recovering

Acting Tougher on the Outside Faking emotions can actually change the bodily functions. Faking outward behaviors actually works with confidence as well: Walking with your head up Walking with bold steps, not shuffling Standing with your back straight and your shoulders back, not slouching Making direct eye contact with people, like teammates, opponents, friends, etc. Fake it, ‘til you make it!

Recover Before Battle It doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you are not physically recovered before competition you are in big trouble! “Recovered before competition” means being at your physical peak when competition begins. Not being: Fatigued Low on energy

Recover Before Battle Three aspects of going into battle being well recovered: Training Cycles Sleep Cycles Nutrition

Training Cycles Review: Adaptation principle is the ability of your body to adapt to stress on the body (weight training, running, pushing the body) During training you must put stress on the body then allow it to rest and rebuild; this resting period is called periodization. Example: do not bench press every single day, but once every 2 or 3 days to develop strength.

Training Cycles During weight training muscle tissue is breaking down causing small tears (not injury tears, but micro tears). The body adapts by healing those tears and building bigger/stronger muscle fibers to adapt to the stress. Lifting every day will not allow muscles to fully recover and rebuild, thus preventing the strength adaptation progress.

Training Cycles It is important not to over work your body 1 – 2 days before competition. It is also important not to involve yourself in any activities that cause stress on the body. A pickup game of basketball is fun, but shouldn’t be done on the day before or day of an important event.

Sleep Cycles We spend about 1/3 of our lifetime sleeping but few people know how sleep cycles work. There are 4 stages of non-dreaming sleep, and 1 stage of dreaming sleep.

Stages of Sleep Stage 1: Right when you fall asleep. This is very light and if you wake up you might not know you were even asleep. Stage 2: About 10 minutes after falling asleep. A little deeper than stage 1 but still a light sleep. However, it is harder to wake up from this stage. Stage 3 & 4: After 10-20 minutes of being in stage 2 you begin stage 3. This is considered deep sleep. This is the most important kind of sleep because the body is able to heal itself by releasing hormones to repair damage that day.

Sleep Cycles After approximately 30 minutes to an hour of deep sleep you go back into a light sleep, but not back to stage one. Rapid eye movement (REM) or Dream Sleep: is the stage where you have dreams and can easily wake up again, then the cycle begins again.

Sleep Cycles Researchers have deprived people of Deep Sleep, and even though test subjects had 8 hours of sleep they felt tired and muscles did not recover. The same works the other way. If REM sleep is deprived, test subjects found that they were mentally tired even though their bodies recovered. What does this mean for athletes? Get plenty of sleep! Teens need approximately 8-10 hours of continuous sleep in order to balance out the deep sleep and REM. This needs to become a habit.

Sleep Cycles Sleep needs to be consistent. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every night. One might say: “I usually get 8 to 9 hours of sleep, and my game is on Saturday afternoon so I can stay up late with friends and sleep in Saturday morning to get a good amount of sleep.” WRONG!!!!! Sleeping in is harmful to performance. Your body has a rhythm and sleeping in throws that rhythm out of place.

Sleep Cycles

Nutrition Your body is a machine and needs fuel in order to function. There are two nutrition guidelines used: The food pyramid My pyramid (food pyramid modified by the USDA)

New Food Plate

Carbohydrates Fuel for the body The trendy “low carb” trends are not what athletes want. Two kinds of Carbohydrates: Simple Complex

Simple Carbohydrates Basic sugar group at the top of the food pyramid (fats, oils, sweets) This includes things like: Candy Soda Cakes Donuts This sugar causes a spike in sugar levels and enters the blood quickly, causing a large production of insulin, driving the blood sugar levels down.

Complex Carbohydrates Quick, healthy energy that your body can use This includes: Bread Pasta Rice These foods are more complex on a molecular level, so your body takes longer to digest and process them. Balance carbohydrates with protein. (side note, eating protein within 45 minutes of working out helps with muscle repair quicker/better than not eating)

Hydration Hydration is essential to performance in any physical activity. If you feel thirsty you are dehydrated. How to tell if you are dehydrated: Urine is yellow, “If its not clear, you should fear.” Bloody noses Flushed skin Chills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6qmzte7prA

Hydration Water or Sports Drinks? Before workouts water is sufficient, and sports drinks do not provide anything more than water. During and after workouts sports drinks are enhanced with vitamins and minerals lost due to sweat. Rule of thumb: if you are going to exercise for approximately 40 minutes or more, drink a sports drink after about 20 minutes, then take small amounts throughout the rest of the workout.

Hydration Water Sports Drinks Before Best No better than water During Good After

Sports Drinks Contain some good products some bad! Good: Sodium, Calcium replace electrolytes lost in sweat. Bad: Lots of sugar, this causes a spike in our blood sugar levels.

Note to Female Athletes Females tend to lack calcium and iron. A lack of iron reduces the capability of your blood to carry oxygen to the muscles; also known as being anemic Red meat contains lots of iron; but an iron supplement is easy. Calcium contributes to bone strength. Drinking milk can help, but milk blocks the absorption of iron. Calcium supplements can be taken and do not block the absorption of iron.